


Decoys and Loyal Bodyguards

by naberiie



Series: Duty, Loyalty, Sisterhood: Royal Handmaidens of Naboo ⚜ [3]
Category: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, in this house we love and appreciate the handmaidens, lighthearted reunions on separatist frigate command decks, misguided rescue attempts, special ops girl gang, the handmaidens have everything under control
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-17
Updated: 2017-06-17
Packaged: 2018-11-15 03:45:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11222628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/naberiie/pseuds/naberiie
Summary: Wherever Padmé Amidala is concerned, Anakin Skywalker is not far behind. When the Hero with No Fear intercepts a distress signal coming from a suspiciously familiar chrome-plated ship, he sets off to rescue his secret love at once, with his Master and Padawan in tow. However, not everything aboard the Separatist frigate that attacked the Nubian ship is as it seems...





	Decoys and Loyal Bodyguards

**Author's Note:**

> After Padmé Naberrie Amidala accepted Queen Jamillia’s proposal to become the new Senator of Naboo, her handmaidens were also given a choice - to follow Padmé to Coruscant, or to remain on planet in service of the new royal court. 
> 
> Sabé, eldest of the handmaidens and a stern but kind leader, decided to stay behind. Rabé, an exceptionally well-trained combat specialist, and Eirtaé, skilled in court protocols and spotting treachery, stayed with her. Queen Jamillia, delighted, promoted them as a specialized security task force for the Royal House. During the course of the Clone Wars, the three were often sent out on high-risk espionage missions to best serve Naboo and the Republic.  
> \--------- // ---------  
> This work is a prequel to a longer fic currently in the works about these three handmaidens, specifically Rabé, and their missions with Anakin, Ahsoka, and the 501st during the early part of the Clone Wars.

Obi-Wan Kenobi felt he should know better by now. That he should never expect anything to go according to plan, especially not when he was with Anakin and Ahsoka. Obi-Wan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to keep the last shred of his patience intact. “Anakin, I cannot believe I have to say this _again_ , but-”

Anakin Skywalker smirked over his shoulder at his old Master. “You don’t have to say it, then, Obi-Wan.” He turned back to the viewport, ignoring Obi-Wan’s huff of annoyance, and directed his next question to Captain Rex: “Are we getting close?” Behind him, Ahsoka giggled and said something in a low voice to her Grand Master, who retorted in annoyance.

“Yessir – the distress signal is coming from the other side of this moon.” The Captain was expertly piloting a small transport ship through the gravitational fields, peppered with smaller moons in slow orbit. Just as Rex finished speaking, the high-pitched trill of a distress beacon came over the systems again.

Commander Cody, in the co-pilot’s seat next to Rex, pointed as they came around the moon. “There’s the source, sir – J-type 327 Nubian, just as you thought, General Skywalker.” Sure enough, the familiar sleek chrome-plated ship hung in space at a strange angle, engines powered down and smoking – and behind it, a Munificent Frigate, the Separatist star painted on its hull. The Nubian ship flickered in the lights of the frigate’s tractor beams, held in place like a prisoner. It had been cracked in half.

A very worrying tableau, indeed.

It was silent in the cockpit as everyone contemplated the scene before them. Obi-Wan broke the silence first. “Well, I hate to say I told you so, but…” He folded his arms and shook his head at Anakin’s sour expression. “This could go very badly for us – we’re five against an _entire_ Separatist frigate. I don’t know what you’re expecting us to accomplish out here, Anakin.”

Anakin’s hands clenched the back of Rex’s seat. He took a short breath, trying to quell the storm of emotions – _too many for a Jedi_ – and gritted his teeth. “That is Senator Amidala’s ship – if she’s been captured by the Separatists, we’ll have a much bigger problem on our hands than another lecture by the Council.”

Obi-Wan quirked an eyebrow. “Yes, exactly – much larger problem than the five of us can possibly hope to handle.”

Cody cleared his throat and said, the hesitation in his voice only audible if one knew how to look for it, “Ahh, sirs, there is… no one aboard that Nubian.”

Now it was Anakin’s turn to shoot Obi-Wan an I-told-you-so look, the two of them grappling in that silent way that only the closest of friends could manage. Ahsoka rolled her eyes at the pair of them fighting like an old married couple, because everyone in that room already knew that they wouldn’t turn back. Without waiting for an official order, Rex continued to fly low, keeping close to the small moons to rely on gravitational distortion to cloak them from the Separatists scanners.

But as they continued to fly, the frigate gave no response of any kind – not even an outward scan. Cody frowned and glanced at Rex, who only shrugged. Ahsoka stepped up and looked over the scanners, as confused as they were while Skywalker and Kenobi continued to silently bicker behind her. “Okay, this is… weird,” she breathed, squinting in confusion at the massive ship as Rex maneuvered their ship to the underbelly of the ship.

Still – nothing. Ahsoka bared her teeth, a reflexive gesture, the lights from the frigate gleaming off her sharp canines. “Nothing?”

Cody nodded. “It’s like there’s no one on board _either_ ship.”

Ahsoka bit her lip as Rex coaxed their ship closer and closer to the frigate. After a tense minute, after no response of any kind, she shrugged and said as calmly as she could manage, “Bring us in, Captain.” _It’s like a ghost ship out here_ , she thought, biting her tongue. She could only hope the Senator was safe in such a place…

“Yessir.”

The hanger wasn’t deserted, that much was very clear. The frigate had been transporting what looked like at least three entire battalions of battle droids, of all generations – but they were standing stock still. Not one of them was activated. As the five disembarked, weapons slowly lowering, Ahsoka turned to Obi-Wan and muttered, “This might have been worth it after all, Master. Something weird is going on here…”

Obi-Wan nodded as he walked up to one of the deactivated units. There was no sign of any sort of blaster fire in the entire hanger bay, on any of the droids. He frowned as Cody and Rex picked their way cautiously through the forest of clankers, their blasters armed and ready to fire at a moment’s notice.

With a crash that shook the entire hanger from floor to ceiling, the droids suddenly collapsed in a wave like dominoes – revealing a madly grinning Anakin Skywalker at its epicenter, hands outstretched from a Force push. Ahsoka snorted with laughter as Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. “An unconventional method, to be sure,” he called out over the sea of prone droids. “Was that really necessary?”

“What? Now we know for sure they’re not going to be getting up anytime soon.” Anakin grinned at his old Master before gesturing to the door opposite. “Let’s go - and _yes_ , it was extremely necessary, thank you for asking.” With that, he leapt gracefully over the scattered droids and led the way to the frigate’s hanger.

The corridors on the way were the same as the hanger – if not as empty as a metallic crypt, scattered droid patrols stood deactivated. What had been amusing in the hanger was now hanging eerily above their heads – no sign of the Senator, no sign of an active ship. Ahsoka bit back her worry, her fingers twitching for her saber. There was one thing to be said about running through an active Separatist ship. At least _then_ the threats were easy to foresee.

They rounded the corner and the blast doors to the command deck barred the way, but something behind them flickered in the Force. Ahsoka reached for her saber, the ghostly halls still heavy on her mind, but Anakin charged ahead. His emotions were rioting off of him in waves. Rex and Cody almost ran after him, but halted when Obi-Wan called out, his voice rising sharply above the hum of Anakin’s saber, “ _Wait_!”

But Anakin did not wait – not when Padmé Amidala might be at risk.

The doors slid open and it was only by the grace of a few milliseconds that Anakin Skywalker’s last meal was not a blast bolt, and that the woman holding the blaster did not lose her hand.

Even with his lightsaber casting her sharp features and bright blonde hair in neon blues, she did not flinch. She did not even blink. Her cat-like eyes merely widened slightly before she smirked and dropped the point of the blaster. “Aha, sister, it seems I was mistaken.” Her voice was low, husky, condescending. She turned to address another standing behind her at the control panel. “The decoy _is_ still a viable option, after all.”

The woman she had addressed turned to face the newcomers, her burnished brunette hair swept back in intricate roped braids loosely bunched at the base of her neck. And as soon as she laid eyes on the three Jedi and two clones, both sides realized the same thing at the same exact time.

“Wait-” Anakin deactivated his saber.

“Clever,” murmured Obi-Wan.

“You are _not_ Senator Amidala,” breathed Ahsoka, staring at the two women in front of them. The blonde was dressed in Naboo battle robes, burgundy trimmed with gold, her hair pulled back into two large buns, but the other wore Amidala’s clothes – and stood like her, her hands clasped, shoulders back, a defiant gleam in her deep brown eyes.

Had she not been sure of the woman’s unfamiliar Force signature, Ahsoka thought she might have been the Senator herself. It went beyond physical resemblances – she _embodied_ the Senator, in every fiber of being, in every tiny, miniature movement of every muscle. _It was_ , Ahsoka decided as she stared at them, trying to discern just what the hell was going on, _entirely uncanny_.

 “Well, now,” the decoy said, smiling as the other woman returned to her side, “this is a surprise. We were not expecting _Republic_ forces.” And it was then that the newcomers realized there was not a droid on the deck. Only these two women. The decoy continued, even her voice sounding like she had lifted it from the Senator’s throat, “It has been several years, Master Kenobi. It is good to see you again.” Her eyes landed on Anakin. “And can it be...?”

“Anakin Skywalker.” The blonde finished, resting her hands on her hips. “A small galaxy, indeed.”

Obi-Wan laughed out loud and bowed to the two. “It has been too long. Forgive me, but I never received your name…?”

The blonde sniffed and turned to the control panel. “That is as it should be, Master Jedi.” She slid into the captain’s chair, resting her feet on a deactivated droid that had been pushed unceremoniously off of it.

Not-Amidala rolled her eyes. “It is our job to remain nameless, Master Kenobi – but seeing as you trekked all the way out here for Senator Amidala…” her eyes twinkled with some personal joke. “My name is Sabé, this is Eirtaé, and Rabé is here somewhere-”

At that moment, the lower deck doors burst open and yet another woman in Naboo battle robes came into the room. She had light copper skin and jet-black hair, her attention focused entirely on the Magnaguard staff in her hands. “Sabé! I like this one! it has a good weight and the electricity isn’t _too_ bad to work around-” Her voice, lilting and gentle, faltered when she saw the group still standing in partial shock in the doorway.

“Rabé, you remember Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Anakin Skywalker?” Sabé called to her as Rabé came to stand next to the other women.

Rabé spun around to examine Obi-Wan, and then grinned in delight as recognition burst in her large brown eyes. “Of course!” She curtsied, then stopped, exclaiming in worry, “Oh – oh no, you came all this way for Padmé?”

Obi-Wan waved her concern aside and gestured to Anakin. “Someone seemed to think the Senator was in grave danger.” He glanced appreciatively around the command deck. “But, it appears that you three seem to have everything under control.”

Sabé gave him a small smile, but Anakin burst back to life before she could answer, “Wait – if you’re here, then where is Senator Amidala?”

Rabé glanced at Eirtaé, who raised one eyebrow but said nothing. “Padmé should have arrived safely on Dantooine for her negotiations several hours ago,” Rabé said gently. “She and Queen Jamillia asked us to ensure her safety by drawing attention elsewhere.”

“And it worked!” Ahsoka laughed, punching Anakin on the upper arm. “You managed to fool us, too, not only the Separatists!”

Eirtaé’s eyes flashed up to her and Ahsoka felt as if she had just placed herself firmly on Eirtaé’s good side.

Anakin sniffed, protesting at being grouped in with the Separatists as Ahsoka stepped further inside the room. Cody caught Obi-Wan’s attention, Rex at his side, and asked under his breath, “Sir...? Who are these women?” The Commander nodded towards Sabé, who was talking to Ahsoka and gesturing to the fallen droids around them. “Is that… is that not the Senator?”

“Ah, yes. Apologies Commander, Captain. They are Senator Amidala’s handmaidens from her time as Queen of Naboo – three of them, anyway. Her decoys and bodyguards. And if you think this is impressive, you should have seen them then.” He smiled fondly at the memory of standing in the swamplands, when Padmé the handmaiden stepped forward and commanded the tide of negotiations as the true Queen. He pushed his other memories of Naboo down, locking them deep in his mind. “Not only did they manage to fool my Master and me, but also her own court _and_ the entirety of the Trade Federation. They’re very well trained in a great many things.” He glanced down and tapped the head of a deactivated droid with his foot. “Including hacking into Separatist systems, it seems.”

Cody nodded, impressed.

Rabé, meanwhile, was entertaining Ahsoka with the story of how they managed to deactivate the entire ship and all of the droids on it, the Magnaguard staff resting lightly in one hand. Eirtaé was silently plugging away at the computer, Sabé peering over her shoulders as she worked. “Oh – Rabé – before I forget – you can’t keep that one,” she called over her shoulder.

Rabé stopped in the middle of her sentence, mortally offended. “Why not?”

“Sorry, sister – CIS tags all their weapons. They might be able to trace it if it leaves the frigate.”

Eirtaé nodded and added, “I’m sure we can find you another electrified staff somewhere in the galaxy.”

Rabé said nothing but rolled her eyes at Ahsoka, who laughed. “Why’d you wanna keep that, anyways?”

“Oh! Well, I collect weapons – I haven’t got one of these and I’ve had my eyes on it for a long while.” She squinted at Sabé in mock frustration. “But today is not that day, I suppose.” She sighed dramatically, flipping the staff back and forth between her hands. “Found anything yet, Eirtaé?”

“Almost,” the blonde replied, frowning at the data speeding past her eyes. “Nothing about Naboo, but there is a lot of plans to build factories elsewhere.” Her enigmatic eyes found Obi-Wan’s and she smiled innocently at him. “Actually, Master Jedi – these might be of interest to you as well.” She leaned away from the panel and let Obi-Wan bend closer. “Droid factory plans. All over the place.”

Obi-Wan frowned at the data. Cody and Rex stepped up closer as he magnified it. A sickly green star map expanded above their heads. Thousands of bright white spots burst from it like a pox. “Perhaps this mission wasn’t a waste of time after all, Anakin.”

Rex whistled under his breath, “That’s a _lot_ of clankers, sir.” He pointed to a spot on the star map, and Eirtaé spun it for him. He nodded at her in thanks and went on. “Look – they’ve plans to build one two systems away from our front in the Outer Rim.”

“A bold move, to say the least.” Obi-Wan leaned back and folded his arms over his chest, stroking his beard. “Eirtaé, would you mind-”

“Copied and ready for you to take, Master Kenobi.” If it hadn’t been for the gleam in her eyes, she would have appeared entirely bored with the whole conversation. She pressed a button on the panel and a small drive popped out from a hidden port. “I’ve already wiped it – it’s clean. No trace.”

Cody plucked it from the panel as Obi-Wan thanked her. “Apologies for stepping over your mission, handmaidens. You had everything under control here – but if I may – who was the distress signal intended for, if not us?”

“Ah,” Sabé rapped the console with her knuckles just as her personal comms beeped softly. “Captain Panaka is waiting to intercept us – and that’s him now.” Outside of the viewport, a Nabooan starfighter was gliding into view, confidentially pulling right up to the hanger bay of the disabled frigate. She smiled at the Jedi and the two clones. “It appears our business here is at an end.”

Eirtaé pushed herself out of the chair, kicking the droid at her feet as nonchalantly as if she were wiping mud from her shoes. She and Rabé took up their place behind Sabé, who – in a single breath – became Senator Amidala again. “It was wonderful to see you again, Master Kenobi, Skywalker.”

Rabé gave Ahsoka, Rex, and Cody a small bow. “And it was wonderful to meet you.” They all returned her bow with polite nods, Ahsoka entranced with the smallest handmaiden’s cheerful attitude and the Magnaguard staff still in her hands.

“Put it _back_ , Rabé,” Sabé said coolly, ignoring her sister’s light protestations.

Obi-Wan chuckled and led the way back to the hanger. Along the way, he turned to Sabé and asked if they had any plans for the frigate. She smiled softly and murmured something about Eirtaé being skilled in explosives. "Make sure you're at least fifteen clicks away, Master Kenobi," she called as a parting word before boarding the Nabooan starfighter, her two sisters close on her heels.

When the Jedi and clones had settled back in their own ship and watched the Nabooan starfighter pull out of the hanger, Ahsoka let out a breath and said, “They might be good to have by our side more often, Masters.”

“I couldn’t agree more, Ahsoka,” Obi-Wan said as Anakin began piloting the ship out of the docking bay. “We shall have to keep the handmaidens in mind.”

It was silent for a half a moment more, and then Anakin added, “We could help Rabé on her quest to own a Magnaguard staff. Next time anyone sees one, be sure to pick it up for her.”  


End file.
